'He's still the same Altior' - Henderson defends star on Game Spirit return

2.25 NewburyWin Bigger On The Betfair Exchange Chase (Grade 2) | 2m½f | 5yo+ | ITV4/RTV

Altior is back, but this time it feels very different. Gone is his shield of invincibility, which has instead been replaced with creeping doubts about what he now is.

Too old to be the same Altior of years gone by, they now say of the ten-year-old. Too imperfect at his fences, they cry of a horse who went 19 races undefeated. Still a mighty talent, of course, but just not the old Altior.

The change in attitude towards Altior since he came off second best to Cyrname in the Christy 1965 Chase at Ascot in November perplexes his trainer Nicky Henderson, who has spoken frankly in the weeks since about his regret in running that day.

He said: “Altior gets beaten once and all of a sudden he’s no longer the horse he was and everyone’s trying to put him down – it’s a weird world. He's still the same Altior to me.

“I’ve always said that if I could have my time again I wouldn’t have run him at Ascot, it was totally against him that day. It was bottomless ground and it was his first run of the season and he wasn’t fully ready for it, so we paid the penalty.”

Ascot was meant to be a stepping stone to the King George VI Chase before plans were changed and the Silviniaco Conti Chase became the objective, until a hoo-ha erupted as Henderson first ruled him out of the race due to an abscess only to reconsider his options the next day.

Altior: returns to NewburyCredit: Alan Crowhurst / Getty Images

In the end, Altior bypassed that assignment and the coverage clearly irked Henderson. Should Altior return to his imperious best at Newbury, however, there will be no triumphalism from the former champion trainer.

He said: “No, that’s not my character – of course it isn’t. Look, he’s got to go out there and do what he’s got to do, I know that and I hope he will. But will I be triumphant about it? No, I won’t, because he’s done nothing wrong and I know that.

“Poor old Altior has had bad press all along when he’s done nothing wrong. The only thing he’s done this season is get beaten by Cyrname in a bog. He’s in good form now and we’ve had a nice dry week building up, so I’m looking forward to it.”

What the rest say

Noel George, assistant to Tom George, trainer of Bun Doran
He's in good form, he likes the track and he ran well at the Ladbrokes Trophy meeting in November. Altior will be pretty tough to beat but we have him in good form.

Alan King, trainer of Sceau Royal
He will be suited by the return to this left-handed track, schooled well on Monday and is in good form. The better the ground the better he will run.

Dynamite Dollars (Harry Cobden) soars over the last fence and beats Kalashnikov in the Wayward Lad Novices ChaseCredit: Edward Whitaker

Paul Nicholls, trainer of Dynamite Dollars
He is a big, gross horse who has taken a lot to get fit. He will need this first run back and will improve, but it's nice to get him back on track and it might be that he will head up in trip.

Amy Murphy, trainer of Kalashnikov
He’s in good order but we’re taking on the champ in Altior and we’re realistic. We want to get him back and get his confidence up. He bled last time and was sick afterwards, but hopefully he can have a good round and get back to himself.

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